Healing Shelter for Trafficked Women

Project Organization

“Living at the shelter gives me hope that there can be good things in the future. I can take classes and work part-time.”

Impact for girls & women

In the last year, we had sixteen women living at our shelter and directly benefiting from our services.

Estimated girls & women affected

16

Broader impact

We are estimating that each woman at the shelter has five family members and/or friends who are indirectly impacted by their safety.

Estimated community members affected

80

Welcome home!

One year ago, you chose to support a shelter in Los Angeles dedicated to survivors of human trafficking. This shelter is the first place survivors can call home after escaping the violence and trauma of being trafficked. A confidential, secure, and healing sanctuary, the shelter protects victims against the all-too-common threat of retaliation from traffickers.

In the last year, your gift has helped 16 women find safety and community. The shelter residents have benefitted from a computer lab for skill-building; a healing garden for meditation and reflection; and a full-service kitchen where victims can cook and eat the familiar foods they were not allowed to eat while enslaved.

With your help, we have been able to hire a new shelter manager who has comprehensive experience working with vulnerable populations. For the safety of the clients, the shelter is now staffed from 9:00am to 12:00am, with staff on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It takes time to recover from the horrific experience of being enslaved. Thankfully, in the last year, five residents have completed the journey from “victim” to “survivor.” These five residents all have full-time jobs and are now able to live independently, opening-up room in the shelter for new people who need a safe place to call home.

Get personal

Here are a few quotes from shelter residents:

“Living at the shelter gives me hope that there can be good things in the future. I can take classes and work part-time.”

“Thank you. I am happy here!”

“At the shelter, I have a place to stay and rest. Otherwise, I would be out on the street.”

Risks and challenges

It is extremely challenging to find affordable housing for shelter residents who are ready to graduate and live independently. Thankfully, the five residents who have graduated in the last year have found suitable living situations, including one graduate who has her own apartment, without a roommate.

What we’ve learned

In the last year, we’ve learned that staff-led classes can really empower the shelter residents to live self-sufficiently. The shelter manager has therefore encouraged staff to lead more evening seminars, covering topics such as: safety, effective communication, self-esteem, job search skills, interviewing skills, and budgeting.

Next steps

The shelter is doing extremely well. We are committed to continuing to provide a safe home for trafficking survivors. At some point, CAST would like to open another shelter that can accommodate families.

Budget

Donations to the shelter are being used for the ongoing care of survivors of human trafficking. Although the Healing Garden is a relatively small line item, the new outdoor furniture and the variety of plants that we've been able to purchase have an huge impact on the restorative environment of the shelter.

Line Items

Projected budget

Amount spent so far

Shelter Staff Salaries

Client Personal Needs

Healing Garden

Food

Shelter-Based Education

Security/SafetyMonitoring

Client Transportation

$14,400

$12,000

$2,750

$12,000

$2,400

$1,800

$4,650

$14,400

$12,000

$2,750

$12,000

$2,400

$1,800

$4,650

More information

Thank you so much for your support of the shelter for survivors of human trafficking. The shelter location must remain undisclosed for the safety of our clients, but we wish you could experience the peaceful and supportive atmosphere of the shelter. We hope the pictures give you a sense of the joy and freedom that the residents experience in this safe home.

Further reading

CAST recently participated in an anti-human trafficking public awareness campaign that was highlighted in local news:

Safety and Shelter for Survivors of Human Trafficking

Progress

We are currently housing 9 women who have been subject to labor and sex trafficking. Now, these women are living in a safe place with 24-hour staff to keep them safe and assist them on their journey of healing. We recently completed much needed maintenance and repair at the shelter, including new wiring. We are also adding new workshops to learn English and how to use computers.

Risks and challenges

Safety and security are important issues in running a shelter. It can be difficult to staff a shelter 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 365 days a year! Of course, it also takes ongoing funding to keep our shelter secure.

Up Close

"CAST helps me be who I am today. I don't know where I would be otherwise." Alice, a former shelter resident who had been trafficked from Kenya

Next steps

We are so grateful that our funding project has been completed! As the shelter residents stabilize and find jobs, we have new residents come in. So, the work is ongoing.

Budget

Donations to the shelter project are being used for the ongoing care of survivors of human trafficking. Funds are also used for basic maintenance of the shelter.

The $50,000 that was funded will go toward operating the shelter for the next 12 months.

More information

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to the shelter. Your gift makes a huge difference - more than you could know, and more than the shelter residents can express!

Support 10 survivors of human trafficking to live and heal in a Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST) shelter for one year.

Why we care: Survivors of human trafficking have complex safety and health issues. They need protection and a nurturing place to live while they recover.

How we’re solving this: By providing shelter equipped with comprehensive and empowering programs with special attention on safety and restoration to 10 survivors of human trafficking for one year.

CAST is the longest running and largest anti-slavery organization in the country, and the first to advocate for laws to protect victims. Establishing the first shelter for trafficked women and their children in the United States, the organization is a final lifeline for women and kids escaping modern-day slavery.

CAST is dedicated to identifying victims, mobilizing all sectors of the community to identify and advocate against trafficking, and ensuring that victims receive appropriate services and assistance to recover from their trauma.

What makes CAST unique is the survivor-centered approach to its programs that provide empowerment services to victims. Survivors receive comprehensive, trauma-informed care that helps them reach social and economic self-sufficiency to rebuild their lives. CAST survivor-centered approach engages survivors as key experts once they are stable and have graduated from the CAST program. CAST works in the trenches giving survivors 24-hour access to shelter and services and provides opportunities for survivors to become key leaders in the anti-trafficking movement.

The shelter is the first place victims can call home after escaping the violent world of human trafficking. Serving victims in Los Angeles from over 50 countries around the world, CAST is solving a key problem caused by human trafficking: protecting victims against the all-to-common threat of retaliation from traffickers who are after them, and helping them to rebuild their lives after the trauma and suffering they endured.

The shelter is a confidential, secure, and healing sanctuary for victims. Designed to help victims reclaim their freedom and independence-and bringing joy back into their lives-this house is the first real home they have known for months if not years. Equipped with a computer lab for skill building, a healing garden for meditation and reflection, a living space that promotes a community of trafficking survivors supporting and nurturing one another, yoga and art classes, and a full-service kitchen where victims can cook and eat the familiar foods they were not allowed to eat while enslaved.

Victims enter the shelter but survivors emerge with newfound strength to be on their own again. Expert shelter staff are experienced in trauma informed care which helps victims feel comfortable and safe, teaching them skills to build their confidence to become self-sufficient. This empowerment approach is what makes the CAST Healing Shelter successful.

"I was trafficked to Los Angeles from my home in Ethiopia, and thought I would never be free again. I was so scared but I couldn’t take the violence anymore. CAST helped me escape and I lived in the shelter for 1 year and a half. It was the most amazing place-my new home- because I met others like me and we all shared the same experience. We learned to help and support each other. Staff at the shelter helped us understand that we are powerful and that we have the right to be happy again. Today, I have a job; I go to church, and have many friends. I am happy and it is because of CAST." -Tgist, Former shelter resident